R E F U G E E S

Bureij Refugee Camp

A fairly peaceful and relaxed camp, Bureij now hosts refugees who mostly fled towns east of the Gaza Strip such as Falouja after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. UNRWA built the camp in the 1950s for 13,000 refugees who were housed in British army barracks and tents at the time. The camp lies at the centre of the Gaza Strip west of the main high Salah Ed-Din way and close to Nuseirat camp.

Population

  • 42,042 (31 December 2008). 31,360 are in the camp and 10,682 live outside the camp.

  • The camp houses 3.92 per cent of Gaza’s total refugee population.

UNRWA Education:

  • UNRWA operates 11 schools, seven elementary and four preparatory, in seven school in the camp. Four of the 11 schools are run on double shift basis.

  • Enrollment in the current academic year totals at 8980.

  • The total number of class sections is 244, 160 classes in the elementary

  • schools, and 84 classes in the preparatory schools

  • The total number of teachers is 322, 188 female teachers and 134 male teachers.

UNRWA Health Programme:

  • The Agency's health centre in the camp is staffed by 37 health care workers assigned to a morning shift.

  • It provides outpatient, dental, maternal-child health, physiotherapy and family planning clinics as well as a laboratory and pharmacy.

  • In 2008, on average of 16,286 consultations were held there each month.

Relief and Social Services:

  • A total of 1177 families (5894 people) residing in the camp are eligible for relief assistance under the Agency’s Social Safety Net (SSN) programme.

  • 502 families are classified as abjectly poor, and receive family income supplements, 3,916 people are classified as abjectly poor.

  • There is one distribution centre in the camp.

  • 194 shelters are due to be reconstructed under the SSN. Among them 177 are in the camp and 17 are out the camp.

  • The number of SSNP shelters that need to be repaired is 234, 173 are in the camp and 61 are out the camp

  • Within its social services programme, UNRWA is sponsoring one Women’s Program Centre in the camp

Microfinance and Microenterprise:

  • Through its Small-scale Enterprise Credit Product, UNRWA has extended loans with a combined value of US$ 456,576.00 to 42 borrowers residing in the camp. Among the borrowers are manufacturers of glue, bags, leather belts, shoes, molds and aluminum shutters, as well as owners of a restaurant and carpentry, welding workshops, a building contractor and a dentist.

  • Through its Solidarity Group Lending Product, which makes credit available to women using a group-guarantee mechanism, the Agency has made loans totaling US$ 787,338.00 to 1,283 women from the camp

  • Through Micro-enterprise Product, loans totaling US$ 927,812.00 to the owners of 1,139 micro-enterprises.

  • Through its Consumer Lending Product, the Agency has issued 93 loans valued at US$ 86,900.00

  • Through its Housing Loan product the Microfinance Department has issued 29 loans valued at US$ 207,700.00.

Emergency:

  • Al Bureij Camp and Al Nuseirat Camp are share the same distribution centre, Emergency Offices and JCP Offices.

UNRWA Environmental Health:

The Sanitation Office is staffed by 31 employees and takes care of daily collection of refuse, cleaning of roads and alleys, transporting the refuse from the camp to municipal landfill sites and rodents and insects control, monitoring the water supply through chemical and bacteriological testing and operating petrol water pumps to pump storm water from the flooded areas during the rainy season. Only part of the refugee camp has sanitary sewerage facilities. UNRWA utilized funds received through the emergency appeal to pave roads and alleys inside the camp under the Job Creation Program.

UNRWA Engineering & Construction Services Department

There are 4 maintenance offices in the camp that offer maintenance services to all UNRWA installations.